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Latest News
  • [ June 8, 2026 ] World Environment Day Rally in Rio de Janeiro Demands a ‘Sustainable Future With Thriving Forests, Clean Air, Water and Land for All and More Humane Urban Mobility’ None
  • [ June 1, 2026 ] Visiting Rio Before July 30th? Don’t Miss ‘Favela Climate Memory’ Exhibition at the Favela Museum Overlooking Ipanema: ‘We Learned to Survive So We Can Tell Others How’ *Highlight
  • [ May 31, 2026 ] Rio de Janeiro Evictions Museum Celebrates Ten Years of Art, Memory and Resistance Since the Olympic Games #LegacyWatch
  • [ May 31, 2026 ] Critical Urban Park in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone Is at Risk of Disappearing After Decades of Government Neglect *Highlight
  • [ May 27, 2026 ] ‘We Belong to the Land’: An Interview With John Mussington on the Urgency of Learning from Barbuda’s Communal Land System [VIDEO] #GentrificationWatch
HomeFavelas as a Sustainable Model

Favelas as a Sustainable Model

*Highlight

Letter Defends Microgeneration of Solar Energy in Rio de Janeiro Favelas

By Organizations that work with distributed energy in Rio communities • Translation by Sharonya Vadakattu • January 22, 2020

Clique aqui para Português The following letter, sent December 30, 2019 by civil society organizations in Rio de Janeiro dedicated to the expansion of solar energy in low-income communities in the city, is a response […]

#HousingWatch

The Favela as a Role Model for Self-Organizing Communities in Berlin

By Robin Hüppe • October 28, 2019

Clique aqui para Português Living in Berlin means bearing witness to ubiquitous and varied self-made, everyday urbanism in all corners of the city. Pop-up markets, stores, street vendors, street musicians and performers, alternative cultural centers, […]

Civil Society

Virada Sustentável 2019 Event Promotes Sustainability in Favelas and Peripheries

By Clara Ferraz, Luisa Fenizola • Translation by Nadine Terasa • October 18, 2019

Clique aqui para Português Right now, from October 17 to 20, Rio de Janeiro is hosting another edition of Virada Sustentável (Sustainable Turn), an annual sustainable lifestyle event that takes place in cities throughout Brazil, […]

#ParticipationWatch

‘It’s Either With Us or Not at All’—Popular City Planning Workshop Trains Black and Favela Leaders

By Luisa Fenizola • Translation by Sarah Jacobs • October 14, 2019

Clique aqui para Português On Saturday, September 28, an urban planning workshop took place at the Manguinhos Park Library, in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone, organized by BR Cidades—a project that promotes building socially just […]

*Highlight

First Sustainable Favela Network Exchange of 2019 Visits RevoluSolar and Favela Orgânica in Babilônia

By Ben Bildsten, Carolina Medina Zárate, Daiana Contini • May 8, 2019

Clique aqui para Português The Sustainable Favela Network (SFN) is a project of Catalytic Communities (CatComm)* designed to build and reinforce solidarity networks, bring visibility and develop joint actions to support the expansion of community-based […]

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RioOnWatch’s anti-racist reporting series won silver in the 2022 inaugural The Anthem Awards, in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion category among Best Local Awareness Programs.
A Project of

About

In May 2010, Catalytic Communities launched what was originally Rio Olympics Neighborhood Watch (hence RioOnWatch), a program to bring visibility to favela community voices in the lead-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics. This news site, RioOnWatch.org, grew into a much-needed and unique reference featuring favela perspectives on the urban transformation of Rio. With diverse and deeply interlinked articles by a mix of community reporters, resident opinions, solidarity reporters, international observers, and academic researchers, we work to engender a more accurate picture of favelas, their contributions to the city, and the potential of favela-led community development in Rio and around the world.

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Awards

Special Thanks

Fundação Heinrich Böll Brasil
World Habitat
Fideicomiso de la Tierra Caño Martín Peña
Pastoral de Favelas
Center for CLT Innovation
Global Land Alliance
Ecocity Builders
Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation
SDSU Behner Stiefel Center
The Rio Times
Forum Grita Baixada
Beto Paixão Graphic Design
Architecture Museum of Vienna
Yale School of Architecture

  • Home
    • Highlighted Stories
    • Understanding Rio
    • Reference Articles
  • Communities
    • Central
    • South Zone
    • North Zone
    • West Zone
    • Greater Rio
  • Policies
    • Public Security
    • Housing
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Health
    • Sanitation
  • Violations
    • Human Rights
    • Housing Rights
    • Police Violence
    • Government Neglect
  • Organizing
    • Community Organizing
    • Community Solution
    • Resistance
    • Sustainability
    • Participation
    • Protest
    • Culture
    • Responsible Tourism
  • Content Map
    • by Community Contributors
    • by Int’l Observers
    • Series
      • Anti-Racist Series
      • Energy Justice Series
    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
    • Photo-Essays
    • Interviews/Profiles
    • Research & Analysis
    • Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
  • Donate

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